The Beautiful Drama of Léon Bakst

Léon Bakst, Design for the costume of the Fiancé in Le Dieu bleu, 1911, crayon, watercolor, and metallic paint on laid paper mounted to board, RISD Museum.

Looking trough the online galleries of Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design (RISD Museum) I stumbled upon few excellent illustrations by Léon Bakst (Lev Samoylovich Rosenberg), made for various projects. That immediately urged me to make this post. I might be very subjective, but in my opinion, there are no ex or current students of costume, fashion, stage and interior design, including those who study/studied history of fashion, who were/are not fans (at least for a period of time) of this brilliant designer and artist. His opulent and innovative costume and stage designs had great influence on fashion and interior design. I recommend the Encyclopædia Britannica article on Léon Bakst written by Kathleen Kuiper. It’s general, but the article gives an overview of Bakst’s private and professional challenges and his career. It might be a good starting point for further research. For more in-depth knowledge, one should consult monographs and various studies.

Project design for Claude Debussy's Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun), gouache on paper by Léon Bakst, 1912; in the National Museum of Modern Art, Paris. 105 × 75 cm. © Photos.com/Jupiterimages